Antigua, STT & St John sailors participate in 2026 BVI Dinghy Championships
Sparkling sailing conditions on day one, with winds from 10 to 14 knots, made for a fantastic day on the water. The Opti Green fleet completed 6 races, Opti Championship and ILCA fleets both completed five, and the RS Fevas completed three.
Day two delivered more challenging conditions with winds upwards of 17 knots throughout the day. With plenty of capsizes and some unfortunate gear failure, for some it was a matter of survival, but for others it was a glorious day of exhilarating sailing!
Competitive Racing
Seven Opti Champs fleet sailors (2 Antigua, 3 VI and 2 St Thomas) completed ten races across the two days with some tight battles within the fleet. After day one, the VI’s Henry Clifton was tied on points with Lluc Agusti from Antigua, with Natalie Skoda (ISV) just one point behind them.
With a discard set to kick in after 6 races, there was everything to play for on Sunday. Aerin Westlake (IVB) and Ruben Van Hest (ANT) were also neck and neck in the middle of the pack, and Piper Bailey (IVB) was holding firm ahead of Thomas Schnell (ISV).
On Sunday, Agusti and Clifton maintained control of the front of the fleet with Clifton taking the first win of the day and the last, but with 5 races sailed, three firsts for Agusti secured him the title.
We were delighted to welcome back ILCA 6 sailors from Coral Bay Yacht Club in St John. After retiring from the first race due to gear failure, Anais Craig (ISV) was looking unstoppable, picking up 5 wins on Saturday. It was Zach Wilson who topped the leaderboard overnight, with Emma Paull (IVB) lying in third, just ahead of Bannon Beaty, all posting consistent results.
Rough conditions
The stronger winds on Sunday took its toll on the ILCA6 fleet with many, many capsizes.
Amazingly, Kit Arton secured a fourth place in the second race on Sunday and celebrated a capsize-free race! Anais Craig continued her winning ways, picking up two more wins. Emma Paull was chasing hard, claiming the final three races and securing herself second place ahead of Zach Wilson in third. Hats off to team St John for sailing home again after the prize giving.
Major participation in Opti Green Fleet
The biggest fleet was the Opti Green fleet with 13 racers competing, eight from St Thomas Yacht Club and five from the Royal BVI Yacht Club.
The VI team were all taking part in their first regatta, having only begun race training classes on April 21. Sailing a short triangular course, they completed six races on day one with ISV sailor Layla Ledee taking a clean sweep of first-place finishes. Bobby Hensley (IVB) had a fantastic day with two thirds and a fourth on his score sheet to sit in 5th overnight.
The Green Fleet completed two more races on Sunday to bring their total to eight. It was definitely the windiest conditions that some had ever raced in, and all should be proud of getting out there and giving it a go.
Layla Ledee (ISV) continued to show impressive form, adding a fourth and a first to her tally from day one and taking the overall win. Toby Evans (IVB) had his best race in the windy conditions, pulling off an incredible start and finishing in sixth. The first VI green fleet sailor was Bobby Hensley.
Clean sweep in ILCA 7
The ILCA 7 fleet started out with five entrants, but unfortunately, after the first race, this dropped to three. Andrew ‘Tubes’ Thompson took a clean sweep of first-place finishes in the five races sailed on Saturday, with Colm Crilly racking up the seconds. However Sundays fruity conditions opened the door for St John’s Richard Burks as both Thompson and Crilly were forced to retire. He went on to post a first in all five races sailed on Sunday and take the title.
Two RSFevas made it out on Saturday and were able to complete three races before work demands took them ashore. Gilbo and Zephyr Simpson took two of the wins and Tim and Florence Paull the other, so they were all set for a Sunday showdown! The RSFevas were joined by a new team on Sunday, Aaron and Zoe Turpin, to make it a full daddy-daughter fleet! One more race was completed, and with Gilbo and Zephyr retiring, Tim and Florence took the win.
Results
Opti Championship Fleet
1 Lluc Agusti (ANT) - 14
2 Henry Clifton (IVB) - 16
3 Natalia Skoda (ISV) St Thomas - 26
Opti Green Fleet
1 Layla Ledee (ISV) St Thomas - 7
2 Eden Iversen (ISV) St Thomas - 24
3 Liam Smith (ISV) St Thomas - 25
ILCA6
1 Anais Craig (ISV) St John- 15
2 Emma Paull (IVB) - 19
3 Zach Wilson (ISV) St John - 24
ILCA7
1 Richard Burks (ISV) St John - 16
2 Andrew Thompson (IVB) - 29
3 Colm Crilly (IVB) - 35
RSFeva
1 Tim & Florence Paull (IVB) - 6
2 Gilbo & Zephyr Simpson (IVB) - 9
3 Aaron & Zoe Turpin (IVB) - 20
.jpg)
.png)
Follow Us On
Leave a Reply